Cumberland Plain Research Symposium

Allow time to come up the lifts, register your name, and take your seat before the Welcome.

Welcome to Country - Uncle Chris Tobin, Darug Elder, Artist & Educator, Western Sydney University

Opening Remarks - Associate Professor Paul Rymer, Lead Investigator Cumberland Plain Research Program, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

Delivering the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan - Elizabeth Irwin, Director Conservation Planning and Implementation, Resilience and Sustainability Division, Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure

The Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan is the largest strategic conservation planning project undertaken across Australia, covering 200,000 hectares in Western Sydney. Now in the fourth year of formal delivery, the CPCP is delivering a conservation program of 26 Commitments and 131 Actions, including a number of on-ground actions such as koala fencing and crossings and delivery of the Caring for Country Aboriginal Outcomes Strategy.

Honouring Country Through Fire and Water: First Nations-Led Practices in Western Sydney - Joshua Staines, Senior Policy Officer - Aboriginal, Penrith City Council

Joshua, a proud Wiradjuri man and Senior Policy Officer at Penrith City Council, will present on the revival and application of Cultural Fire practices led by First Nations communities across Western Sydney. His presentation will explore how these land management practices are being reintroduced to restore ecological balance, reduce bushfire risk, and strengthen cultural connections to Country.

Joshua will also share outcomes from the Aboriginal Water Forum held at Penrith in March 2025, as well as insights from Penrith Council’s recent Water Country Pilot, a collaborative initiative that supports platypus monitoring, First Nations knowledge sharing, and community capacity building. Presentation will highlight the vital role of Traditional Custodians in shaping sustainable environmental futures through cultural leadership and on-ground action.

Networking over light refreshments.

Revitalising edible root grounds of the Cumberland Plain region: What, where, why, how? - Associate Professor Emilie Ens, ARC Future Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University; Co-authors: Tahlia Robinson, Leanne King, Liz Cameron and Savana Carroll.

Edible roots are a staple part of human diets globally. But what edible root species were eaten by Aboriginal groups on the Cumberland Plain prior to colonisation? Where were these species located and harvested? Why did they largely disappear, and how we can we restore them? This multidisciplinary collaborative project combines European colonial diaries, recent records, genetics and Aboriginal knowledge to identify some traditional edible root grounds of the Sydney region and places where these species are now known to occur. We are re-investigating growth requirements for some species in the glasshouse and recording Aboriginal cultural significance. We hope to initiate growth trials with Aboriginal youth groups, schools and community gardens to reinvigorate the knowledge, care and use of these species on the Cumberland Plain. At this symposium we will provide an update on this project.

Revitalising Science with Law/Lore: D’harawal Ecological Knowledge and the Future of the Cumberland Plain - Kate Richards, Senior Lecturer Creative Industries, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, Paul Rymer

This presentation introduces an interdisciplinary research collaboration between Kate Richards (Creative Industries, WSU), Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews (Director, Indigenous Research, WSU), and Paul Rymer (Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment), focused on co-relating D’harawal Law/Lore with scientific ecological knowledge to address sustainability challenges on the critically endangered Cumberland Plain. Central to the project is the remarkable body of Law/Lore stories recorded by Aunty Frances Bodkin, which carry deep ecological knowledge and wisdom, survival and sustainability strategies, relational ethics, and systems-level ecological insights.

The research explores how D’harawal Law/Lore offers a relational, adaptive view of ecological processes—foregrounding change, interconnection, and nonhuman agency. Stories such as Yandel’mawa and Yandel’ora provide metaphorical frameworks based on deep empirical observation of ecosystems and cultural practice. These Indigenous worldviews offer a potent contrast to dominant Western ecological metaphors such as the economically-infused "Balance of Nature," instead highlighting dynamic ecological interactions that align closely with evolutionary and disturbance-based models of resilience.

A key focus is the role of the lyrebird (Wiritjiribin) in D’harawal stories as teacher and guide. In one ancient story, Wiritjiribin leads the people to safety during wildfire. Contemporary ecological research co-relates with this traditional knowledge: lyrebirds are now recognised as “eco-engineers” whose behaviours—including foraging and firebreak creation—support bushfire mitigation and forest regeneration.

The project directly addresses the need to challenge colonial misconceptions that dismiss Indigenous Law/Lore as myth rather than knowledge. It highlights how cultural narratives can productively inform scientific understanding, reframe conservation discourse, and support more ethical and inclusive approaches to land stewardship.

Kate Richards will also present creative outcomes developed with Studio Gilay, from the ARC project Shielding Our Futures led by Prof Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, demonstrating how digital storytelling and language revitalisation can amplify the ecological and cultural relevance of D’harawal Law/Lore in the context of the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan.

Private Parcels, Public Benefits: Challenges and Opportunities of Expanding Access to Government-Funded Privately Conserved Lands in Western Sydney - Emmanuel Ugwu, PhD Candidate, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Neil Perry, Juan Salazar Sutil, Stephanie Hernandez

The wider society has a stake in private lands conserved under government-funded conservation instruments. Yet, public access to those parcels remains restricted due to environmental, ethical, and legal concerns. In dynamic landscapes, broadening access to private lands can help bridge socio-economic inequities in nature exposure and expand opportunities for conservation volunteering, scientific research, and third-party monitoring of biodiversity. We surveyed residents of the rapidly urbanising and densifying Western Sydney region to assess the challenges and opportunities of public access to private lands. Most respondents primarily recreated on public lands. Few had access to private lands through land ownership and connection with landholders. The majority were unsure about whether private lands should be publicly accessible, with more opposing than supporting the proposition. Notably, landholders and non-landholders expressed support at statistically similar levels. When considering the potential outcomes of public access to private lands, respondents envisaged the direct personal and communal values and disvalues (eg. the escalation of littering, promotion of public health and violation of landholders’ privacy) more than indirect environmental benefits (eg. increased donations to nature protection causes and recovery of threatened ecosystems). These findings indicate that people hold cautious views on liberalising access to private protected areas. However, the ambivalence of many respondents on the idea and the support of some landholders for it signify an opportunity to cultivate public interactions with private lands. Therefore, we propose a policy strategy to incrementally mainstream social values in the stewardship of publicly funded private lands in order to maximise conservation co-benefits.

People's Perspectives on Nature - Dr Claudine Moutou, Team Leader Social Science, Science Impact and Assessment Branch | Science and Insights Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (DCCEEW)

This presentation focuses on the power of NSW DCCEEW’s Community Appreciation of Biodiversity dataset to understand what people know, value and do to protect biodiversity. This annual survey includes good representation of people in the Cumberland Plain which allows for local government, researchers and practitioners to adapt their conservation and restoration engagement activities and evaluate its success.

Posters:

• Zahra Emlaei, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

• Prof. David Ellsworth, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

• Matthew Alfonzetti, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

• Sophia Bruna, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

• Dr Kumari Rajapaksha, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

• Dylan Bristol, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

Adaptive management for improved restoration outcomes - Dr Emma Gorrod, Principal Scientist – Adaptive Management Science | Restoration Science Team, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (DCCEEW)

To address uncertainty surrounding restoration outcomes, we are developing an adaptive management framework that explicitly identifies priority knowledge gaps and addresses them through structured learning. Priority knowledge gaps can be resolved by acquiring new information, including by embedding manipulative experiments within restoration projects. By integrating experimentation and learning into restoration practice, we aim to build a more reliable foundation for delivering long-term ecological recovery.

Integrating soil and vegetation patterns to restore Cumberland Plain Woodlands - Paola Pisetta Raupp, PhD Candidate, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Paola P Raupp, Dhruthi Somesh, Ian Oliver, Paul Rymer, Uffe N Nielsen, Yolima Carrillo

The Cumberland Plain Woodlands (CPWs), critically endangered grassy woodlands in peri-urban Sydney, Australia, are facing significant degradation due to urban expansion and the dominance of exotic species. With less than 10% of their original extent remaining, restoring CPWs is critical to enhance biodiversity and ecological integrity in a metropolitan region. However, exotic species dominance and soil properties vary widely across remnants due to historical land use, influencing restoration outcomes. This study examines the relationship between physicochemical and biological soil parameters at various depths and the relative dominance of native and exotic species along CPW degradation gradients. Field plots were established across metropolitan Sydney, capturing a degradation gradient based on the percentage cover of native and exotic understorey species, canopy, and bare ground. We assessed the composition and diversity of native and exotic vegetation, alongside 15 soil attributes across shallow (5cm), medium (10cm), and deep (20cm) layers. Early results for physicochemical attributes showed that soil pH correlated with vegetation degradation conditions, with more acidic soils correlating with higher native understorey and canopy cover. Soil texture also distinguished degraded from non-degraded plots. Soil moisture and nutrient availability, particularly phosphorus, were positively associated with exotic cover and abundance and negatively with native cover and abundance, while ammonia exhibited the opposite trend. These patterns were generally consistent across soil depths. The next phase will integrate biological soil attributes to improve understanding of plant-soil relationships across degradation gradients and soil depths. These results offer insights for developing restoration strategies that promote native vegetation and suppress exotics, ultimately supporting biodiversity in the Cumberland Plain region.

Remapping and regenerating Cumberland Plain Chain of Ponds - Professor Martin Bryant, Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Technology Sydney; Co-authors: Penny Allan, Peter Ridgeway, Nathan Galluzzo

The Chains of Ponds in the Cumberland Plain are an ancient, mostly underground, and nearly forgotten water system that once sustained abundant and biodiverse life. Unlike incised watercourses, a chain of ponds forms swampy meadows that slow water and encourage infiltration—spreading and filtering subterranean flows across the landscape, mitigating flooding and erosion, and helping to regulate heat.

This critical landscape system, with its intrinsic adaptability, was once an extensive and prolific network of slow-moving water, integral to the health of Cumberland Plain ecosystems. However, the Cumberland Plain Chains of Ponds have never been formally identified or legally protected as an ecosystem, and have unfortunately been heavily degraded—by European agricultural systems, and now by the inexorable urban sprawl of Western Sydney.

Drawing upon 19th-century parish maps, mid-20th-century aerial photos, fieldwork, and advanced cartographic technologies, this research reimagines the network and ecology of the Cumberland Plain Chains of Ponds. In collaboration with institutions like Sydney Water and local communities through local government, the project explores opportunities for regenerating remnants of the Chains of Ponds in areas where urbanism, with its impermeable surfaces and heat island effects, continues to proliferate.

The significance of this work lies first in its use of advanced technologies to deepen understanding of endemic landscape systems, and second in its proposal of landscape-based strategies to promote place-based development—addressing the vulnerabilities that urbanisation creates both for fragile ecosystems and for incoming populations of residents and workers.

What Role Do Floral Traits and Pollinator Fidelity Play in Shaping Genetic Outcomes in Seed Production Areas? - Awapa Jirabanjongjit & Vidula Varadarajan, PhD Candidates, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment,Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Melinda Pickup, James Cook, and Paul Rymer

The Cumberland Plain Woodland, a critically endangered grassy woodland community composed of trees, shrubs, and herbs, is a key focus of habitat restoration efforts. While these projects aim to re-establish the original plant community, it remains unclear whether they also support the recovery of plant-pollinator interactions. Flowering plants exhibit diverse floral traits to attract pollinator which facilitating pollen transfer, an essential step toward fertilization and seed production. Identifying reproductive barriers is important to ensure reproductive success and seed quality. Seed production areas (SPAs) have been established to produce high-quality of native seeds for ecological restoration. These areas provide an opportunity to study plant-pollinator interactions, reproductive success, and relevant ecological context. This study has three aims including 1) to explore pollinator composition and diversity of focal plant species in SPA and identify pollination syndromes 2) to assess pollination effectiveness and efficacy 3) to evaluate how pollinator behaviour affects outcrossing rates and determine genetic variation within SPA community. The empirical observations and camera recording will be applied for monitoring pollinator composition.  Both floral and pollinator traits will be collected and measured. The number of pollen, and pollen tube germination and growth on the stigma will be investigated to determine effective pollinators. While bagging experiments will be conducted with various pollination treatments to determine reproductive success. Seedlings from pollination experiments will be sequenced DNA to determine outcrossing rates and evaluate genetic variation. The results will enhance our understanding of the plant-pollinator network associated with Cumberland Plain Woodland species and support the production of high-quality seeds for use in restoration and conservation projects.

Superior Conservation Outcomes from Database Integration - Dr Paul Angel, Coordinator Bushcare, City of Canterbury-Bankstown; BioGeo Data Analysts, Co-author: Dorothy Luther

Maintaining species diversity and viable populations of the extant native flora and fauna within conservation reserves must be a primary objective of land managers. Site management strategies that typically focus on weed control and bush fire risk management can be unsympathetic to a species ecological requirements. Also, small and/or declining populations of native species can be particularly vulnerable to local extinction if the site management strategies are not compatible with their ongoing reproduction and recruitment needs. Intervention is required to prevent the disappearance of such species. Threatening processes need to be identified and abated.

Our work has aimed to apply rapidly developing information and Artificial Intelligence technologies to broaden the management paradigm towards a “species-centric” approach in the various remnant and regrowth stands of Cumberland Plain Woodland and other Endangered Ecological Communities within the Canterbury Bankstown LGA.

Firstly, we amalgamated the diverse records of native species occurrences from sources including Council records, local surveys and the Atlas of Living Australia. The life history and plant responses to variations in environmental conditions of each individual species were obtained from the AusTraits database. We aligned these via an application designed by students from Schools of Computing Science at University of Sydney and University of Technology, Sydney. A user-friendly dashboard interface facilitated the filtering and analysis of huge volumes of data and present the results via a GIS.

Species deemed “at-risk” were targeted for additional conservation measures, including seed collection and propagation and inclusion in revegetation projects. Seed germination treatments to overcome various dormancy mechanisms were mined from AI searches of the Journal of the Australian Plants Society as well as the AusTraits database.

Rewilding in the Cumberland Plains – Removing, Re-introducing and Restoring - Dr Samantha Travers, Scientist – Restoration Science & Research Scientist, Restoration Science Team, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (DCCEEW)

National Parks is well underway with establishing a feral predator-proof area spanning 555ha and 6 Threatened Ecological Communities at Yiraaldiya, an area formerly known as Shanes Park. Establishing this reserve has required several stages, which are common to most feral predator-free areas established in Australia. These stages typically involve establishing a suitable area, constructing predator-proof fences, removing feral predators (cats, wild canids, foxes) and herbivores (deer, goats, pigs, rabbits), managing extant native herbivores, reintroducing native fauna, and monitoring their reintroduction success. Reintroduced fauna often restore critical ecosystem functions that have been lost from the system, such as soil disturbance, seed and spore dispersal. Together these actions, along with the effective management of fire and close monitoring for unlawful activities (access tracks, waste and rubbish dumping) will also help locally threatened fauna persist in this area (e.g., speckled warbler, scarlet robin and rose robin). The local Aboriginal community continues to work closely as Yiraaldiya is established, as the area is also home to hundreds of Aboriginal sites and Aboriginal places. The park also aims to provide a unique urban rewilding experience for visitors, the local community, and domestic and international tourists with day-use facilities and future plans for camping and accommodation facilities to support research and educational activities. Given that several decades of research now underpin the establishment of feral predator-free areas in Australia, this park has provided a unique opportunity to gather informative baseline surveys and monitor previously overlooked aspects, such as trophic interactions among invertebrates and shifts in microbial communities, which are likely to respond strongly to mammalian rewilding.

Networking over light refreshments.

Restoration Adaptive Management Framework - Liza Schaeper, Senior Team Leader, Ecosystems and Threatened Species, Greater Sydney, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (DCCEEW)

Saving our Species (SoS) is an innovative state-wide program that seeks to maximise the number of threatened species that are secure in the wild in NSW. The Greater Sydney Branch of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water delivers SoS conservation actions and records and reports on threatened entities in the Greater Sydney region, with a range of partners. For entities where the taxonomy, location, threats and conservation actions needed are known, the prescribed on-ground actions can go ahead. For other entities, important questions need to be answered first. Case studies of species-specific projects will be included.

Vegetation Structure as a Predictor of Biodiversity in the Cumberland Plain: Insights from LiDAR and Field Surveys - Caitlin Dagg, PhD Candidate, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Uffe Nielsen, Elise Pendall, Paul Rymer, Michael Franklin

Effective management and conservation rely on accurate biodiversity assessment. Traditional field surveys, however, are slow, resource-intensive, and require substantial expertise. Remote sensing offers an efficient, cost-effective, and scalable alternative for assessing at landscape scales. Yet its accuracy for estimating on-ground diversity in fragmented landscapes remains uncertain.

In this study, we evaluated how well LiDAR-derived vegetation structure metrics predict species richness across plant and bird communities. We integrated aerial LiDAR with standardised floral survey plots (n = 742) to analyse relationships between structural attributes, species richness using generalised additive models. Results show that canopy height and vertical variability consistently predict higher bird richness, while relationships with plant richness vary by growth form and nativity. These findings underscore the potential of structure-based monitoring for conservation and restoration planning under the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan.

Characterising the seed germination niche and forecasting climate-driven shifts in germination windows in the Cumberland Plain - Chaminda Alahakoon, PhD Candidate, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University; Co-authors: Caitlin Dagg, Hannah Carle, Rachael Nolan, Cathy Offord, Mark Ooi, Wolfgang Lewandrowski, Emily Tudor, Paul Rymer.

Large-scale ecological restoration efforts are underway across Australia to build climate-resilient ecosystems. However, seed-based restoration is challenged by knowledge gaps around how climate change will affect plant establishment, particularly during the critical germination phase. To address this, we investigated the germination niches of 28 common species from the Cumberland Plain, encompassing a range of functional types, climate origins, and vegetation communities. Seeds were germinated under controlled conditions across a gradient of temperatures and water potentials to identify species-specific germination responses. Using monthly soil temperature and moisture data from NARCLIM 2.0 (1950–2100), we modelled germination proportions for each species across the Cumberland Plain and projected how germination windows may shift under future climate scenarios. Germination climate niche varied among species and functional types. Germination windows ranged from winter-only germinants to those capable of germinating year-round. We were able to predict and quantify both temporal shifts and contractions in germination windows into the future. Importantly, by capturing a wide range of germination strategies in the experiment, our approach can be applied more broadly to anticipate climate impacts on germination across diverse species. Our findings provide critical insights for climate-adapted restoration, supporting informed decisions on species selection and optimal seeding times to maximise restoration success.

Future outlook for Cumberland Plain creeks and rivers: urban development, sewage, concrete and climate change - Associate Professor Ian A Wright, Associate Professor for Environmental Science, School of Science, Western Sydney University

Freshwater wetlands, streams and rivers across the Cumberland Plain have been progressively modified and impaired since arrival of Europeans. They also have been providing invaluable resources to help Sydney survive and grow. A complex series of adverse impacts on freshwater environments will increase in tandem with the accelerating intensification of land uses across the Cumberland Plain. There will be increased volumes of sewage to manage and the coverage of land with impervious surfaces will increase.  Climate change will impose many challenges. It is a valuable opportunity to audit the current state of these freshwaters and to consider how we can take action to ensure that they are carefully managed and their ecological health is protected.  

Into the wild: addressing plant extinction through establishment of new plant populations - Professor Rachael Gallagher, ARC Future Fellow, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University

Over the last three decades, vast international resources have been committed to conservation seed banking, to great success. Seed bank collections have grown rapidly since the millennium and seeds and plant germplasm are now routinely stored to safeguard species against extinction. Yet seed banks were never intended to be a ‘final stop’ along the road to recovery for plant species. Currently, when we do reintroduce or translocate plant populations, failure rates associated with their establishment can be unacceptably high. We also often do not know where to situate new plant populations relative to their historical distributions, given immense changes in climate and land use. New science is therefore needed to improve and intensify the strategic reintroduction and establishment of plant populations to the landscape. In this talk, I will outline gaps in ecological and conservation knowledge that hamper current reintroduction success, explore solutions – including new engagement with landholders and practitioners on the Cumberland Plain – and demonstrate how we might use emerging financial market mechanisms to fund initiatives that reduce plant extinction risk by establishing new populations. I will discuss how we might thoughtfully design initiatives that establish new plant populations across Western Sydney, Australia, and the world.

Concluding thoughts and Thank Yous - Associate Professor Paul Rymer, Lead Investigator Cumberland Plain Research Program, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University